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Internet companies such as Twitter, Google and Facebook, are being called on to act on the spread of fake news and misinformation after the office of U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller charged 13 Russians and three Russian companies, including St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency known for its trolling on social media.

The indictment released on Friday (February 16) claims a Russian propaganda arm oversaw a criminal and espionage conspiracy to tamper in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign to support Donald Trump and disparage Hillary Clinton.

The indictment said Russians adopted false online personas to push divisive messages; traveled to the United States to collect intelligence, visiting 10 states; and staged political rallies while posing as Americans.

CNET staff writer Laura Hautala said the indictment increases pressure on social media companies like Twitter and Facebook, whose platforms were allegedly used by the Russians to spread misinformation.

"The indictment today really adds to the pressure that was on these companies already, they've already been grilled by lawmakers and have been called upon to come up with changes that can stop this kind of thing in the future," said Hautala.

The surprise 37-page indictment could alter the divisive U.S. domestic debate over Russia's meddling, undercutting some Republicans who, along with Trump, have attacked Mueller's investigation.

The Russians sought to measure the impact of their online social media operations, tracking the size of U.S. audiences reached through posts and other types of engagement, such as likes, comments and reposts, according to the indictment.

Facebook said in a statement that it had previously disclosed the Internet Research Agency's activity on its platform. "We know we have more to do to prevent against future attacks," said Joel Kaplan, Facebook's vice president of global policy.

Twitter, whose platform also was used, declined to comment on the indictment. The indictment is silent on the question of whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin, which Mueller is investigating.

The accused Russians are unlikely to be arrested or to appear in a U.S. court on the charges, which include conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud, bank fraud and identity theft.